21.5 cm x 3.8 cm x 9.6 cm
Glass, spruce root

Fort Wrangell, Alaska (Tlingit), c. unknown 
Collector: Dr. L. B. Sherry
Museum ID number: SHE.C5.cpq.4607

Glass was not a material that was native to Alaska, but instead was likely brought by Russian and American explorers for trading purposes. As this particular bottle appears to be wrapped in authentic spruce root weaving, it may have been a “tourist” item to sell to collectors so that they may show off the “exotic” crafts of Native Alaskans to their colleagues. Spruce root weaving was a common activity among Tlingit women, making baskets with similar decorative patterns as seen on this bottle. Spruce roots were harvested in the spring and then heated, stripped of their bark, split into thin strands, softened in water, and sometimes dyed with plant materials.